


of skateboards, spray cans & secrets

by chanscrown



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Artist!Minho, Bang Chan is Whipped, Bang Chan is a Sweetheart, Friends to Lovers, Graffiti, Identity Reveal, Lee Minho | Lee Know Is Bad at Feelings, Lee Minho | Lee Know-centric, Light Angst, M/M, Secret Identity, Skateboarding, Skater Bang Chan, Street Artist Lee Minho, banginho, berry makes an appearance too as mini matchmaker, ft wall-e as chan's skateboard, minchan, side changlix, skater!chan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-14
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:33:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26008816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chanscrown/pseuds/chanscrown
Summary: minho is two things:1. a quiet cafe worker by day; a sneaky street artist by night.2. a liar.somehow, a freestyle skateboarder named bang chan gets thrown into the middle of this.
Relationships: Bang Chan & Lee Minho | Lee Know, Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53





	of skateboards, spray cans & secrets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [minchanted](https://archiveofourown.org/users/minchanted/gifts).



> it's another "gia writes a [drabble on twitter](https://twitter.com/caratchans/status/1268921803461865479) on twitter inspired by their go teaser pics back when they were released thinking she won't make it an actual au and then writes it anyways...only to take years to do so"
> 
> this is dedicated to my fellow go-chan era/chan vending machine hair enthusiast rini bc she persuaded me in the first place to write it even AFTER i told her i was a trash writer. (rini i am so sorry in advance omg....)  
> THIS TOOK TWO WHOLE MONTHS I AM SORRY.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this was a fic meant to be released during the go live era, but finally finished days before their next comeback. please enjoy.
> 
> UPDATE: THE WAY I FINISHED THIS HOURS BEFORE COMEBACK WHICH IM SO SO PROUD OF, PLEASE SUPPORT THE BOYS MUAH MUAH I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCHHHH GIVE THEM A WIN THEY DESERVE BC THEY WERE ROBBED LAST TIME WHICH WAS LIKE BIG NO-NO, SOME OF YALL SLEPT ON GOD'S MENU AND IT SHOWED!! anyways enjoy.
> 
> stream back door, b me, & wow for clear skin <3

_**12:29 A.M.** _

It’s a quiet Sunday night in the city; a few dimly-lit street lights flicker here and there around the city while only a few first-responder vehicles pass by the empty streets.

In a greatly-populated metropolis with over 1 million inhabitants living here every day, you'd think that the city would be bustling with people no matter what time it was.

However, tonight seemed to work a little differently; the entire city was currently a ghost town as everyone was fast asleep in anticipation of a brand new work week starting in just a couple of hours.

...well, not _all_ of the city.

Someplace located a few blocks away from city hall stands a mysterious hooded figure looking up at a painted mural in the middle of the street.

The mural in question is a bright and cheery design, welcoming both citizens and visitors alike as it proclaims a positive hand-painted message of, "Welcome to our city! You're in good hands here."

The person stands back to admire the mural's beauty from afar: whoever took the time to paint this did exceedingly well, from the bright and cheery color palette to the smallest yet most intricate of details on the lettering.

It's just a shame all that hard work's going to waste now thanks to _this_ asshole standing in front of it.

The hooded figure takes a moment to quickly scour the area for any hidden nightwalkers before smirking to themselves.  
"Time for Lee Know's time to shine," the figure hums to himself.

Meet Lee Know, the asshole who's about to fuck some shit up on purpose.

He plops his messenger bag in front of the happy mural with a loud _clunk,_ casually revealing a large stash of paint cans inside the leather bag. He can’t help but grin widely as he straps on a pair of black gloves, wiggling his fingers in excitement and preparation.

If there was one way to describe Lee Know, it would _definitely_ be a fucked up modern-day Robin Hood: he ruins the wealthiest of people while giving the public a new gift.

And in terms of 'gifts' per se, Lee Know gave them an art form.  
More specifically, an art form filled with his infamous spray paint, as well as a loving message to the city's government to simply suck it- _hard_.

In his eyes, Lee Know's philosophy is that everything is a work of art, and by 'everything,' he means that the entire city is his canvas. Every painting, piece, and wall deserved some sort of finishing touch from him, especially when it came to works and structures created or approved by a shit government that's controlled entirely by capitalist morons.

To the public, Lee Know's hailed as a _hero_.

But to the city's government and their mind-controlled leaders, Lee Know is a _menace_ who doesn't know how to shut up.

Meanwhile, Lee Know just doesn't care.

Why? Because he _doesn't_ give a shit about what _you_ think of him.

He's still gonna keep doing his own thing, while you can worry about something else... like your horrifying debt in the corner.  
  


The government, on the other hand, loudly hails Lee Know as public enemy number one, continuing to advocate daily for the street artist to be put behind bars. It's gotten to the point where the city has gone so low to easily throw money at people who actively claim that they "know who's behind Lee Know," when in reality they don't.

 _No one_ knows who the artist truly is behind the all-black getup and the dark red bandana covering his face.

Nor will _anyone_ know.  
  


Hell, the artist himself has even called in once as "L.K." and was offered fifty bucks on the spot as a thank you for the "great tip."

And although the money was quite tempting, knowing it would instantly reveal his identity on the spot, he declined.

But even though he chose not to become fifty dollars richer, Lee Know still won in the end; the tip involved sending a group of police to a deserted factory in the backends of the city jungle, _in which they did with no luck.  
  
_

So again, Lee Know 1, government 0; he still wins.

The idea of government is stupid, and the people in control of said government are even stupider. Regardless of what they do or what they say, Lee Know will _always_ be one step ahead of them.  
  


The artist takes his time to plot out his plans for the old mural’s makeover before reaching a happy consensus. He briefly hovers over the wide array of spray paint below him before finally grabbing a flashing orange can that seems to vividly speak out to him.

Lee Know roughly tosses the cap aside, shaking the paint can vigorously back and forth. After a few more shakes and roughhousing with the can, he aims it at the center of the mural, lifts his bandana to recover his nose, and holds down the can’s nozzle to coat the wall with a streak full of rebellion.  
  


The smell of strong paint fumes fills the air as the artist slowly begins working into his usual rhythm, watching in excitement as his vision starts to come alive in front of him.

There’s just something about the night that makes Lee Know feel exhilarating- that, or the paint fumes in the past talking. 

Other than political propaganda and the never-ending cycle of fucked-up capitalism, the night served as one of Lee Know’s biggest inspirations- _especially_ the moonlight.

The moonlight gave him multiple things - a sense of belonging, motivation, and hope.  
And yes, it was cheesy. So what? With the moonlight by his side, Lee Know was _boundless_ to do whatever he pleased.  
  


He continues to actively paint over the mural with the moon shining brightly above him, the once realistic images around the painting now covered with large X’s and drizzles of paint smears everywhere. 

He switches colors with a black spray can this time, quickly taking the cap off and shaking it rapidly before aiming it at the letters in the former mural’s message.  
Lee Know’s ready to change up a few words and-

_“Sup, LK?!”_

Lee Know immediately jumps from the sudden noise, dropping the spray can with a loud clatter. He quickly picks back up the spray can and looks from both sides of the street, surprisingly seeing no one in sight.

“Who’s there?” he booms out, “Show yourself.”  
  


He gets no response, but a few seconds later, he sees someone reappear from the corner, holding what looks to be a heavy plastic bag in one hand and a skateboard in the other.  
  


The street artist sighs in relief upon seeing the stranger, dropping the spray can again before quickly walking over to them and harshly punching the person’s shoulder.

“ _Ow!_ Hey, what was that for?” The other groans.

“Do you know not what time it is?” Lee Know hisses, “Don’t scare me like that!”

The other person grins. “Sorry, but a ‘hello’ could’ve been nice instead of a punch.” 

Lee Know rolls his eyes. “Fine - hello, _Chan,_ ” he mutters.

Meet Bang Chan, a very friendly occasional watcher of Lee Know’s works as well as the _only_ person who the artist allows to hang out with him, even though Chan rarely made any sense to him sometimes.

The artist still remembers the first time they met all those months ago when Chan crashed into him while on a midnight skateboard run around the city. What was funnier is how Chan didn’t even realize he was Lee Know until their second accidental meeting. And after a big misunderstanding that involved Bang Chan nearly getting arrested for something he didn't do, just when the artist thought the skateboarder was going to turn him in, the other shook his head, stating he was a fan and thought his works were doing justice.

Since then, every time Lee Know was out on his usual art runs, he always contacted Bang Chan (from a burner phone, of course) with a set of coordinates to find him. It was an odd exchange and was a bit confusing at first, but the skateboarder always managed to find his location.

Chan excitedly holds up a plastic bag. "I got your usual."

The artist points to the untouched wall corner. “Just put it there.”

Besides showing up every time, the regular visitor also liked to have midnight runs to the nearest convenience store, buy out their stock of late-night snacks, and then run to wherever Lee Know was painting that night and offer a bunch of food to him.

And although Lee Know has repeatedly made it _clear_ to him to stop doing that, Bang Chan stated he was a “growing boy” and needed his midnight nutrients, Lee Know included.

  
“How long did it take for you to find tonight’s coordinates?” the artist asks as Chan sets the bag down.

The other scratches his head. “Uh, fifteen minutes-ish? It was pretty close by.”

Lee Know hums. “Impressive,” he says.   
  


The artist doesn’t miss the way Chan's eyes grow wide when he sees what tonight's canvas was.

  
"You're kidding, right?" Chan questioned.

"Am I _ever_ kidding?"

  
"Of all places, you chose the old mural tonight..?" Chan stumbles in disbelief, and the artist shrugs.

"You said it yourself, it's _old_. I'm just giving it a new paint job, that's all." Lee Know answers, reshaking up the paint can. Chan scratches his head at this as he takes a few steps back to get a better look at this "new" paint job.

"Uh-huh," the other deadpans, "And if the paint job only consists of replacing a few words in a friendly message and making it, 'Welcome to HELL! You're in BAD hands here!' then I'm sure this sounds like a great paint job to me. Five stars."

Lee Know gives him a harsh look.  
  


"If you're criticizing paint jobs, go look at that miniature hell-on-wheels of yours. Who in their right mind makes something bright ass highlighter _neon_ yellow?" he retorts, pointing at the large-wheeled contraption tucked below Chan's right arm.

Chan overdramatically gasps, clutching his skateboard tightly. "Hey, that's Wall-E you're talking about; he has feelings too, y'know!" The skateboarder argues.  
The artist watches in disgust as the other hugs the skateboard closer to him. "It's okay, baby, Lee Know didn't mean it."  
  


"I meant _every_ damn word I said,” Lee Know retorts, watching Chan glare at him. “I can't believe I'm saying this, but I liked it better when it was that weird tangerine orange color. Were you high or something when this happened?”

Chan’s sour expression is still on his face, continuing to defend his beloved skateboard's appearance. ”I’ll have you know my friend Brian did this paint job for _free_ : he usually charges people a couple of hundred bucks for these things.”

Yet, unsurprisingly, the artist still isn't impressed.

“Chan, if he was your friend, he would’ve tried harder." he deadpans, "Other than that, it looks fucking _atrocious_.”  
  


Chan hmphs, hugging his skateboard tighter. "Well, too bad, I don't care about your opinion - I think he looks _rad_ , and that's what counts."

The artist rolls his eyes at the oversized highlighter being called 'rad' of all things, turning back to the mural.  
  


"Whatever rocks your boat," he mutters, "Now if you excuse me, I have a masterpiece to finish."

The skateboarder shrugs in response, setting his skateboard back on the ground and taking a seat on it, rocking back-and-forth.

"Cool, while you do that, I'm gonna dive into some of the food I bought earlier."  
  


"That's nice, Chan. You go do that," he says, shaking up the spray can once more. Chan doesn't answer him, as the artist shortly hears the sounds of crinkling chip bags from behind him. The artist shrugs, knowing the conversation has ended from there and resumes back to his painting.

This was their routine: Lee Know paints while Bang Chan watches, sometimes choosing to work on his “skater boy trick moves” depending on the area they were at (the artist has gotten slowly grown accustomed to the loud sounds of grunts and cluttering from behind him.)  
  


And by the time Lee Know would be finished, they’d call it a night and go their separate ways.

  
Chan is on his sixth bag of potato chips when Lee Know crouches down to re-cap all of his spray paint cans, which only meant he was done.

“Finished already?” Chan asks, a bit muffled from the crunching sounds. The street artist nods. “Yes, what do you think?”

The skateboarder shoots him a thumbs up. “Looks good; reminds me of this one wall art we have at the skatepark.”

The street artist blinks at him. “You act like I know what you’re talking about.”

  
“I mean, I know how you are about your anonymity and all, but if you visited Yellow Wood and saw the art there, maybe you could contribute. It’d look pretty cool near the half-pipes.” Chan shrugs, crushing up the rest of his chips and downing them in one-go before getting back up.

“Sorry, no commissions unless the government loves it.” Lee Knows reminds him again of his usual routine.

“Eh,” Chan grins, “Worth a shot. But if you ever have an artist’s block, I’m sure you could take it out on there.” He tucks Wall-E back underneath his shoulder. “I guess I’ll see you the next time you have another artistic breakthrough?”

Lee Know nods, slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder. “I’ll send you the coordinates.”  
  


“Sweet,” he says, “Night, LK.”

“Goodnight, Chan.”

And the two of them head their separate ways- one goes left, the other right.

Until the next breakthrough indeed.

**  
— ✰ —**

Just like any gritty anti-hero movie, Lee Know is an alter ego for 23-year-old _Lee Minho,_ a reserved person who preferred the more quiet and quaint life.

When Lee Know wasn't soaring around the streets with spray paint and plans for a new canvas within the city jungle, Lee Minho would be living his day-to-day life just like anyone else.

He even worked part-time at a small cat café called Levanter, a place hidden away in the heart of the city from 9-5 throughout the week.

  
He admits that the pay isn't always that great thanks to slow business at times, but he's only there because of the cats- specifically, _three_ of them: Soonie, Doongie, and a new addition named Dori- as well as the cafe owner himself Felix, who's smile can instantly brighten up somebody’s day.

Minho doesn't deserve such an amazing boss like Felix- especially when due to his... _nightly_ profession, he tends to arrive at work a bit late majority of the time. Yet Felix simply waves it off and pays him fully regardless, no cuts or withholding insight.

Plus, did Minho ever mention that his boss makes the best desserts? Only an _angel_ could whip up perfect delectables like that.

  
"Morning!" Minho shouts the moment he walks in, instantly greeted with the sweet smell of strawberries and cinnamon. A few cats meow in disapproval from the outburst, but Minho pays them no mind as he runs to the register to clock in. After the screen tells him that he's good to go, Minho quickly yanks his brown apron from the wall and ties it around his waist, smoothing out the small crinkles. 

One of the cats waltzes over to his legs, in which Minho patiently pats on the head before searching for his boss, who's oddly nowhere to be seen.

"...Felix?" he calls out to the empty café scattered with cats in every corner.

  
"In the back!" the other shouts from afar, and Minho nods, turning towards the back room. After he waltzes past the curtain dividing the back with the counter area, he's instantly greeted with the sight of his boss surrounded with multiple trays of pastries resting on the table in front of him.

"Hi, Minho." Felix waves with one hand while the other is holding a nearly-finished pink frosting bag.  
"Jesus, Felix, it's only Monday!" Minho says in disbelief.

Felix waves it off with a smile. "I know, I know," his boss admits as he swirls more icing around a plain cupcake, "But today I got here a bit earlier than usual, so that's why there are a lot more pastries today than usual. I burned a few, though."

"I see that, but you even made the raspberry scones today, and it's not even Wednesday!" Minho points out when spotting the bestsellers, immediately diving in to eat one while he got the chance.

The baker giggles as he watches Minho happily sigh after biting into the scone. "Blame me for being the earlier bird then, unlike _some_ people."

  
Minho’s confused at first, but it only takes him a couple of seconds to finally realize that Felix’s talking about _him_.

“Hey!” Minho protests, “I’ll have you know that I got here on time today!”

  
Felix laughs.

“And I appreciate that you did, don’t worry,” he assures him, “But since you’re here now, do you mind helping me display the completed ones while I ice the rest of these?”

Minho nods, quickly wiping his mouth before putting on a pair of gloves. “You got it.”

The rest of the morning goes by fairly fast. Customers come and go, but Felix’s overbaking allows them to have a small “Buy 2, Get 1 Free” sale which proves to be quite effective throughout the day.

Trouble arises in the afternoon though, starting with two certain customers that walk into the café around 1.

Felix and Minho were both in the back trying to grab more cat food from storage when they hear the front bells jingle, signaling that a customer was present in the café. The two of them quickly exchange a look with each other before heading towards the counter.  
  


“Good afternoon, welcome to Levanter!” Felix greets with a kind smile to the two visitors. 

While one of them seems to be a little nervous standing there, the other one, a smirky guy with a pointy-chin waltzes up to the counter and grins cheekily at Felix.

“Hi, I’m Changbin,” the chin-guy greets, “What’s your name?”  
  


Minho rolls his eyes. This dude seriously _can’t_ be flirting with his _boss_ right now.

But unlike Minho, who easily resists the man’s nonexistent charms, Felix’s cheeks turn a dusted pink.  
  


“U-uh, it’s uhm- Felix,” he stutters, “Would you like me to show you both to a table I think you’d be comfortable with?”

Changbin smiles. “That would be lovely, thank you, _Felix_.”

 _You’ve gotta be kidding me,_ Minho groans as he warily witnesses the scene between the two of them as Felix nervously shows them to a table in the corner and takes their order. He watches his boss grow red once more when Changbin seems to be confidently flirting with him this time as he walks back to the counter and gives Minho their order.  
  


“One iced caramel macchiato with a strawberry cake, and one vanilla latte with a cinnamon bun for Changbin,” his boss murmurs.

“I can do the macchiato order; I’m sure _Changbin_ would love you to make his order,” he jokes with his boss, who elbows him.

“Shh- Not so loud!” Felix whispers angrily.

Minho grins. “You think pointy-chin is cute, though.”

Felix’s cheeks grow a deeper red again.

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve dated so… if he potentially asked, I would probably say yes…” his boss truthfully admits in embarrassment.

Minho giggles. “Aw, Felix! You have a shot!”

His boss disagrees. “No I don’t! Now come on, help me with their orders.”

To no one’s surprise, when Minho finishes making the macchiato and plating the strawberry cake, Felix is still taking his time to make Changbin’s order perfect, especially when making a heart-shaped latte art for the other. By the time he finishes, Felix volunteers to serve their order, and Minho watches from afar as Changbin continues to compliment his boss with a smile and a few more flirtatious lines.

The doorbell rings once more, and Minho looks up to greet the incoming customer.

"Welcome to Levanter Ca-" but before he can finish, Minho makes eye contact with the new customer and stops short when recognizing an all-too-familiar midnight face in front of him, their ugly neon yellow board in tow.

 _Oh fuck no._ Minho thinks when the customer in question walks up to the counter, which only makes Minho’s fears grow even worse.

_Okay, Minho, relax, maybe it’s not even him, it could be someone else!_

“Uh, hey, I don’t know if this is the right place but-”

"Yo, _Chan!_ Over here!" the other person from earlier shouts from across the room, and Chan turns to look at them with a grin.

_Yep, it’s him._

“...Nevermind, thank you,” he says to Minho before sauntering over to his group of friends.  
  


Minho wants to die now.

Out of all the places, Bang Chan, a stranger he rarely knows except for a few facts told by the man himself, who usually spends time with him at night is at his _workplace_ , and on top of that is friends with someone who’s flirting with his lovestruck boss.

_Great._

When Chan sits with his friends, Felix quickly takes his order and makes it his duty to serve it himself just to spend more time talking to Changbin, which Minho doesn’t mind as he tries to busy himself by counting the number of pastries and desserts they had left in the display cases.  
  


Eventually, Felix walks back to the backroom to grab a few things and the café is silent once more except for the cats and Chan’s friends in the corner. But Minho still feels anxious to be standing a large distance away from Bang Chan and continues to think of a deadly situation that could happen if Chan recognizes him.  
  


He’s busy recounting the number of cake slices for the third time when he hears a certain someone clear his throat.

 _You’ve got to be kidding me._ Minho groans before standing back up.  
  


“Yes…?” Minho asks, refusing to meet eye contact with the other and purposefully looking past Chan.

“Uh, hey I know this seems kinda weird but-”

_He’s going to say I look familiar, and if he does, just shut it down Minho, just shut it do-_

There’s suddenly a hand waving at his face.

“Hello?” Chan says, “Did you hear me?”

Minho blinks. _Fuck._

“Sorry, could you repeat that?” Minho asks.

“I asked if you guys had an epi-pen around by any chance. My friend Jisung… uh, he’s deathly allergic to cats.”  
  


Minho gives him a look.

“He what.”

Chan scratches his head. “Has a cat allergy…? So, uh, yeah, an epi-pen would be great.”  
  


Minho widens his eyes before turning to look at the table in the corner. And sure enough, their friend is turning bright-red as Changbin tries to steer more cats away from approaching any further.  
  


“Shit, um, Felix!” Minho shouts to the back, and as if on cue, his boss appears.

“I’m here, what’s wrong?”

“We need an epi-pen, someone has a cat allergy.”

Felix shares the same look of shock on his face and quickly rushes into the backroom to find one, even though these situations had _never_ occurred before due to a thing called common sense.

Things go by in a blur from there.  
All Minho remembers is the continuous screams coming from Bang Chan and Changbin at their friend for “forgetting to take his allergy medication,” Felix calling an ambulance, and multiple lights flashing at the cafe as they took the person away.   
  


But Minho doesn’t miss the way Bang Chan looks at him with a bright grin before leaving, which only makes Minho question things even more.

**— ✰ —**

"You remember how I told you I was bi, right?" is the first thing Chan asks Lee Know the moment he slides into tonight's designated spot with Wall-E and his usual snacks in tow. 

A week had passed since the Levanter cat allergy incident, and Minho hadn’t seen the other since until today.

The artist- who was busy spraying a wall full of red paint- freezes mid-painting when hearing that question, shifting his head to meet Chan's eyes.

"Yeah... and?" He responds.

 _What an odd question to start the night with,_ he thinks.  
  


It was one of the first things Lee Know found out about Chan back when they first met.

And while Chan gave off the biggest bisexual “bro” energy with his treasured hell on wheels, Minho was gay from head-to-toe (which Chan didn't know, _yet_.)

Chan is strangely silent afterward, which Minho can easily tell something's up.  
  


"You know you can't just ask a vague question and just shut up afterward." the artist chides, hoping to get a chuckle from the other.

In all honesty, the two of them rarely spoke about their personal lives during their usual midnight meetups- and if they did, it was always Chan talking to Lee Know about it while the other continued to paint to his heart's desire.

Yet Chan is still silent; and based on how it already started, it sounded a bit urgent.  
  


Minho sighs before clearing his throat, grabbing Chan’s attention. "You know I won't judge you right? What's said here stays here, I'm _Lee Know_ for Christ's sake." He tells the silent skateboarder, who nods.

Chan sighs. 

“You promise you won’t laugh?”  
  


“I won’t.” the artist promises.

"Alright…” Chan breathes, “I'll just start from the beginning." Minho nods, giving Chan his full attention by dropping the spray can on the ground and turning to look at Chan face-to-face. 

"What?” he asks when he sees the other's shocked expression, to which the skateboarder simply shakes it off.

"Nothing... I'm just surprised that you're listening, that's all." the latter admits.  
  


The street artist crosses his arms. "In case you've forgotten, just because I'm a street art vigilante doesn't mean I'm not human."

"Sure," Chan mocks before describing the events that happened earlier at Levanter, starting from him arriving late due to being unable to locate it on Apple Maps, meeting the most precious cat on Earth, to Jisung forgetting that he didn’t take his allergy medicine today. 

As Chan continues to vividly describe his day, unbeknownst to him though, the street artist crouching down in front of him had already known the entire story as he had witnessed it himself.

”Jisung, I admit, can be a bit... forgetful sometimes.” Chan tells him, “And the moment I passed the cat to him, he freezes and goes ‘I don’t think I should be petting this.’ and when I asked why he just told us, ‘Oh, it’s cause I didn’t take my allergy medicine today.’ and waves it off like it’s no big deal before the dude’s turning bright red across from me!”  


Ah, yes. The dumb tomato man who kept smiling and saying he was alright while his friends kept shouting at him.

”If your friend had a cat allergy, why would he even come in the first place? It’s a _cat_ cafe. Already a red flag right there.” Minho comments and Chan agrees.

”I mean, in all honesty, it wasn't Jisung's fault from the first place. Changbin was the one who suggested it since it was his turn to pick where we ate... wait, how did you know it was a cat cafe though?”

Minho _panics_.

“Uh… it just takes common sense, right?” he lies. “That’s the only type of café where you’ll find cats at.”

Chan blinks at him momentarily. “Huh,” is all he comments, “You’re not wrong.”  
  


“I’m _never_ wrong,” the artist acknowledges.

Chan rolls his eyes jokingly before sighing.  
  


“But besides Jisung nearly dying that day, you know what I honestly regret doing?”

Minho raises his eyebrow at him. “What?”

“I should’ve shot my shot with the worker at the counter.”

Minho nearly chokes on thin air.  
  


“Excuse me?” he asks, and Chan nods. “Yeah, there was this one guy at the counter the whole time I was there just counting the pastries the whole time, and although we didn’t talk, I thought he was cute.”

 _So he found me cute, interesting._ Minho thinks.

“And you know why I’m so mad I didn’t shoot my shot that day, even afterward? Because after that happened, my friend, who was flirting with the owner the whole time, came back to that café and asked the owner out! And 'bin is like, one of the most antisocial people I know! But nooooo, he just had to be really confident with that dude and boom: he’s got a date!” Chan groans.

Minho blinks, trying to process the recent news, especially about his boss and the Changbin guy.  
“Wait,” Minho says, “Your friend got a date with the café owner after your other friend’s allergic reaction thing?”

Chan nods. “Yeah, after leaving the hospital he went back to the café in hopes of seeing him, which he did right near closing!”

 _And Felix didn’t even tell me? Traitor!_ Minho screams.  
  


But Chan still looks slightly defeated from not being able to talk to Minho that day, and the artist feels like he should do something about it.

“Uh, Chan, think of this way, you know where the café is, right?” he finds himself asking, and that immediately grabs the skateboarder’s attention.  
  


“Yeah, what about it?”

“Well… There’s always another chance. It’s not like it was the only chance you’ll ever see that person again.”  
  


Chan is silent again, thinking about it for a whole before nodding once more.

“You’re right, Lee Know,” he agrees, “There’s another chance I can shoot my shot. Thanks.”  
  


“You’re welcome.” the artist responds, grabbing his spray paint can once more and resuming his painting for the night.

And as he continued to paint another Lee Know masterpiece, he just hoped he and Chan wouldn't make that second encounter happen.

**  
— ✰ —**

It turns out fate _does_ give Chan a second chance to encounter Minho again, this time on a sunny Saturday in the park.

Minho was off today, choosing to make use of his day by running errands, starting with cleaning his entire apartment, to ending with buying groceries and heading back home for some nice home-cooked ramen.

"Berry, come back _here_!" Someone loudly shouts from afar, and before Minho could react, a small, tiny ball of fur rushes toward him, knocking him down with full force.

He lands flat on his butt with a groan, but to add even more fuel to his public humiliation, he watches with fear as most of his paper bags containing his recent purchases fly all over the pavement with a few splats.

_So much for being productive_ , Minho grumbles as he can hear the faint sounds of gasps and chatter from a few people who had witnessed the scene.

"This is why I'm a cat person," he mutters as the cause of his embarrassment continues to rapidly bark loudly at him.

As he's brushing off a few more bits of gravel from his clothes, Minho can hear the sounds of shoes getting closer to their area.

"Berry, there you are!" someone calls out, but this time, Minho turns tense.

"Oh fuck no." Minho groans.  
He recognizes _that_ voice a little too well. 

The annoying dog, Berry, continues to bark beside him, and Minho turns to look away when the person arrives. The tiny dog's loud and ear-hurting barks later cease into small hums, which Minho assumes that the owner must've picked him up.  
  


All Minho's gotta do is just get up now before he notices that he's-

_"Hey, are you okay?"_

-Nevermind, he noticed.

Minho takes a moment to quickly compose himself before finally turning back around to meet Berry and his dog owner's eyes.  
Sure enough, the other person blinks back at him in surprise.

"Hey, have I seen you somewhere before?” they ask, setting the dog back down on the ground.  
  


 _No, you have not seen me before, we are complete strangers!_ Minho wants to scream, but the words refuse to leave his mouth.

“Uh-” Minho starts.  
  


“Wait- oh yeah!” The person snaps his fingers, “You work at that café near Downtown! The one my friend had an allergy problem because he forgot to take his medicine!”

 _This must be Hell, it has to be Hell.  
_ _Why would God want me alive right now?  
  
_

Minho nervously chuckles. “Yuuuuup, that’s me…”

The person grins.

“Cool, I’m Chan. I don’t think I introduced myself that day,” he says, holding out a hand. 

“Minho,” he tells him, accepting the hand as Chan helps pull him up. As Minho brushes himself off again, he takes the time to look at Chan, who looked like he had just come from a run wearing a muscle tank and shorts, two things he’s never seen the other wear before.

He didn’t even think Chan _had_ muscles in the first place- but judging from how hot he looks, Chan was getting his grind on now and then.

Then there’s Minho in his old sweatpants from high school and an oversized t-shirt looking like someone found in the gutter.  
  


Chan eventually sees the mess surrounding Minho and widens his eyes.

“Shit,” he says, “Did Berry do all of this?”

“No, that was all me after your dog rushed past me because I’m clumsy,” Minho chides.  
  


Chan blinks at him.

“So again, Berry did this,” he reinstated before turning to the dog with a frown. “Berry, bad dog. I’m disappointed in you girl.”

But the dog simply woofs at him, feeling no remorse from causing Minho’s cycle of Hell. Minho continues to shoot daggers at the dog before Chan clears his throat, grabbing his attention once more.  
  


“Here, let me help you get these back in your uh… bags,” Chan proposes, getting down on the ground and reaching for a couple spilled items before Minho could say anything else. The other shrugs and joins him, trying not to cringe at how some of the food looks a bit gross post-falling now. 

As the two of them- and Berry, who's excitedly watching them while wagging her tail- are cleaning up the spilled groceries, Minho later hears Chan loudly hiss at something.

"What?" Minho questions and Chan looks up with a sheepish look on his face, who’s holding a carton of eggs in his hands. "Well..." Chan says as he pops the carton open to show the other, "I hate to break the news to you, but... your eggs, uh... didn't make it." 

And true to his word, Minho looks to see multiple broken raw eggs in the carton, all messily coated in the sticky yolk.

Minho sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. That's his fault for buying a fifteen egg pack in the first place. "Guess no eggs for me for a while, huh?" He lightly jokes, but Chan reacts with a frown.

"I'm so sorry again," Chan tells him, "I should've kept a tighter leash on Berry if I knew this was gonna happen.” 

Minho raises an eyebrow at him. He didn’t take the other as a type of person who would feel bad over a couple of spilled groceries. 

“Let me at least reimburse you or make it up somehow, it's the least I can do for causing you all this trouble."

Minho halts when hearing that, immediately waving him off.

“There’s no need to do that, trust me!” He attempts to protest, but Chan shakes his head in disagreement.

"Please, I _insist_.” Chan gestures to the other items that are unsalvageable. “Most of the food you bought is now either ruined, bruised, or just straight-up disgusting.”

Minho narrows his eyes at him. “Are you seriously insulting what I just bought a few minutes ago?”  
  


Chan widens his eyes, waving his hands rapidly.

“What are you- oh god, no! Of course not!” he sputtered.

As if on cue, Berry barks at the two of them, and Chan refocuses his attention on the small spaniel in front of him.

"What is it, girl?" he asks, crouching down to the dog's height.

Instead of taking this opportunity as a sign to run, Minho awkwardly continues to stand there and witnesses the sentimental moment between the family as Berry proceeds to lick at her owner's face while the other blinks at her in confusion.

If Minho didn’t have a strong love for cats, he’d call this cute.

But he won’t.  
  


However, Minho watches Chan's facial expression instantly brighten after a couple of more licks at his cheek, picking the dog up before glancing at Minho with a strange glint in his eye.

_Did that dog just cast a spell on him or something?_

"Berry just reminded me about something..."

 _Yep, that evil dog definitely cast something on him,_ Minho glares in annoyance as Chan continues to speak.  
  


"I don't live in this area, my friend does, though, and I only come here just for a workout or for her,” Chan explains, “But I _do_ know where the closest grocery store is, and I do need to get Berry more dog food. So why not just come with me and I’ll replace your old groceries? I could even drop you off wherever you live since it looks like you were planning to walk home.”

This man doesn’t know what the definition of _no_ means.  
  


“I just told you it was fine though, there’s no need to stress about it,” Minho groans, “Trust me, Chan.”

Yet the other refuses to stand down.

“Please, Minho? This technically covers for my friend’s shit too the other day,” Chan pleads, “Plus, it’s free food.”  
Minho groans. Knowing how Bang Chan was already with Lee Know, he knew when Chan had something in mind, he would still do it regardless of what others protested.

But knowing how money is a bit tight these days- especially since Minho just ordered $80 worth of spray paint this morning, free food seems nice.  
(That reminds him, the leftover convenience store chips from Lee Know's last 'art attack' with Chan were still in the back of his pantry somewhere.)

Minho finally gives in.

  
"Fine, but it's only because you promised free food," he states, and Chan grins.

"Great!" The other cheers, picking his dog up. "Follow me, I parked my car this way."

**— ✰ —**

"Thanks for the meal again, even though you didn't have to do all of that," Chan tells Minho as they’re standing outside Minho’s front porch.

When Chan and Minho went on their grocery run, after Chan bought a few extra groceries that Minho didn’t need and spent all that money on him for nothing, when arriving back to Minho’s place he offered dinner to the other as a thank you. 

It was a nice dinner filled with ramen and kimchi fried rice, including the addition of some old biscuits for Berry to nibble on under the small dining table.  
Minho _still_ isn't sure whether or not the biscuits were expired, but judging by the multiple kisses and licks Berry gave him afterward, it seems like they were fine.

Minho smiles, leaning against the doorway. "You paid for a lot today, so of course you deserved to stay over for dinner. But just as a reminder, _I_ wasn't the one who cooked most of it- that was all _you_." Today, Minho learned another interesting fact about Chan- besides being a limitless skater boy who risked his health nearly every single day, he was quite the five-star chef.

Minho, on the other hand, can't even cook to save his own life- hence the lifetime supply of quick microwave meals and 

At the same time though, Minho learned the hard way that Bang Chan wearing an apron Minho's mother made for him while effortlessly whipping food around in a frying pan had the potential to cause a heart attack for him in the middle of the kitchen.

The talented chef in question chuckles, cradling a sleeping Berry in his arms. "You still didn't have to make dinner just because I was here. We could've resorted to your usual meal - take out."

Minho frowns. "I’ll have you know I order _great_ take out. Not the gross, cheap stuff.”

“Uh-huh, I could tell by the multiple to-go boxes cluttering your refrigerator.” Chan snickered.

“Speaking of meals... are you sure you don't want the leftovers?" Minho questions, "You helped cook most of it after all."

  
Chan waves it off.

"Nah, I have plenty of food back home," he demurs, "Think of this as saving money for a couple of days... that could be the equivalent of the groceries I unintentionally destroyed if you think about it."   
  


Minho gives him a pointed look, crossing his arms.

"False," he corrects, "Your _dog_ destroyed them. But you did try to warn me about the incoming quicksilver, though."  
  


The skater chuckles. "I guess I did, hm?"

Before Minho could answer though, he fails to hide an incoming yawn that Chan easily notices with a smirk.

"Well, it's getting pretty late, Minho, and I think that's my cue to get going," Chan tells him, and Minho does nothing but nod silently when hearing those words. "Y-yeah, you should," he stammers, "Thank you for helping me again. I'll repay you somehow."

Chan snorts. "Repay me how? This will only go on like a never-ending cycle if I allow that to happen. But I did have fun today, so it was my pleasure." Chan unlocks his car with a small beep, opening the passenger door to gently place Berry inside. Minho watches the scene unfold with the utmost adoration. It was domestic, homey, refreshing- all three feelings into one.

Once Berry is tucked away safely, Chan spins around, surprised that Minho is still watching him.

  
"You must _really_ want me to leave, huh?" He jokes, and the other one shrugs.

“I’m not a mean host; I have to ensure you leave safe and sound. Plus I need to make sure you don't crash while trying to exit my driveway.” he defends.

"Yet the longer you continue watching me like a hawk out here, the more likely you’re gonna catch a cold." Chan points out, “But it’s good to know you care, though.”

Minho smiles back at him, and there’s another prolonged silence that comes afterward.

Neither one of them moves or says anything else until Chan finally coughs.

“Well... I guess I should be getting going then,” he says, scratching his head nervously.

“O-of course!” Minho stutters, “It’s late after all... you know?”

”Yeah. Like I said earlier, really nice seeing you again.” Chan draws out as he begins to walk around to the driver’s side of the car.

”You too!” Minho shouts a bit too loudly, trying not to cringe on the inside.

Chan blinks at him for a couple of moments before grinning widely. "Alright... I'm gonna head off now... goodnight, Minho," he says, clicking open the car door and climbing inside.

"Goodnight, Chan," Minho waves as the car engine starts up shortly after, planning to give him a proper goodbye when he drives off.

To Minho's confusion, though, Chan's car stays immobile in Minho's driveway.

"Is he not going to leave?" Minho mutters, "Or is he waiting for me to go back inside?"

He stays seated on the front steps for a couple more minutes to see if Chan was planning on going back to his own home sooner or later, but much to his chagrin, the grey car _still_ doesn't move. Minho sighs, getting up.

"He's gonna go home eventually, it's not like he's gonna sleep in his car, right?" he asks himself.

But just as Minho's about to turn around and walk back inside though, he hears Chan loudly shout, "Minho, wait!"

Minho freezes in his steps, shifting back to look at Chan rolling the rest of his window down.

"Chan?" he asks in surprise.

The other one scratches his head nervously.

"I uh, know a way you could repay me somehow," he stated sheepishly.

Minho raises an eyebrow at him in suspicion. 

" _Really_ , now?" he quips, "And what would that be?"

Judging by Chan's nervousness written all over his face, Minho doesn't know if he should be worried or not. There's plenty of things Chan could suggest for Minho to pay him back without needing to pay in cash- both kinky and non-kinky.

But usually, non-money favors were _always_ kinky.

...Yeah, Minho's gonna be concerned about this one.

Yet Bang Chan continues to surprise him every time.

"You could go on a date with me." he proposes.

"I'm not doing it if it's se- wait, what?"

Chan widens his eyes at him.  
"I said a date? What were _you_ thinking of?"

Minho grows red at that.  
"N-nothing!" He stammers.

Chan, not wanting to push the conversation any more awkwardly than it already was, clears his throat before moving on to explain his date-proposal.

"Look, I know we haven't known each other that long and all..." he starts, "But as I said earlier, I really had fun with you today, and I'd like to do something like this again sometime... plus, you're really cute."

He mumbles the last part about Minho being cute, but unfortunately, Minho hears all of it _fairly_ well.

Minho gulps.  
  


This is such a _bad_ idea.  
Nor _should_ he pursue this bad idea in the first place.

And to Minho, that is _not_ okay.  
  


But there's just something about Bang Chan that's strikingly different, and Minho still has multiple questions.

Today Minho realized his perceptions of the skateboarder as Lee Know were completely off when meeting him as Lee Minho, and it only made him want to see more sides of Bang Chan that he hasn’t seen yet.  
  


At the same time though, this is _Bang Chan_ we were talking about: someone who knows who Lee Know is versus someone who also finds Lee Minho attractive.

And Lee Minho is _both_ of those people that Bang Chan was getting to.  
  


Minho is stuck and truly doesn’t know what to do.

But when he looks at Bang Chan from the window and sees him, something in him just stirs.

  
“Okay,” he speaks quietly.

Chan blinks at him in surprise.

“Really?”  
  


Minho nods.

Bang Chan breaks out into a huge grin.

“Awesome!” he cheers, “I’m really glad, Minho, thanks. I should probably get going now, heh.”

“Shouldn’t you at least get my number first?” Minho smiles at him, and he doesn’t miss the way Chan gets slightly embarrassed by that.

“Y-y-yeah!” he stutters as he digs around in his car for his phone, “Hold on.”  
  


The two of them shortly exchange numbers (Minho giving Chan his actual phone number instead of a burner phone one this time) and they say goodbye to each other one last time before Chan drives off.

Minho finally walks back inside and closes the front door behind him, sighing in relief.

That’s when the realization finally dawns on him.

“Oh my god, what have I just done?” Minho gasps, clutching his head in panic.  
  


There was no going back now- Chan and Minho were going on a date soon, and Minho couldn’t help but continuously fret over the possibilities of something going wrong during it

  
But it’s just one date, right? After that, Minho could just ghost Chan and still be able to be around him as Lee Know without any suspicion.

“It’s just one date, Minho,” he continues to tell himself repeatedly as he walks to his bedroom.

This would be the only date to ever happen between Bang Chan and Lee Minho, and nothing else. And if there _was_ , Minho would be sure to stop it before happening.

  
Because he was only going to go on this _one_ date with Bang Chan, and that was it. 

Nothing more.

**  
— ✰ —**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there are three chapters to this work that i DID fully finish from beginning to end - YES, I ACTUALLY MADE A FULL FIC THIS TIME WOOOOO !! (thinks to how i never finished that nsfw minchan fic i had and its been like a year... anyways.)
> 
> i will be releasing each chapter once a day, and since there's only 3 it'll only take like 3 days so basically chapter 2 is coming out in a couple hours so!! see u guys soon
> 
> while u wait scream at me on the following here:  
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/caratchans) (i follow back if you care about that omg..)  
> [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/skzminchan)  
> 


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